Red Bluff Missionary Baptist Church cemetery, Treutlen County, Georgia Coordinates: N32.39205 W82.68813
The details of 22Charlie Black's birth are frustratingly puzzling. As explained below, one can be confident that he was born in east central Georgia in the early to mid-1890's to his mother 45Julia Black, but further details remain elusive or uncertain.
Problem:Unresolved When and where was 22Charlie born?
While all records agree that 22Charlie was born sometime in the early to mid-1890's, the particular dates/estimates vary bizarrely, even for records created around the same time. The following table shows these dates/estimates in chronological order of the records' creation.
Despite the numerous glaring discrepancies and contradictory dates, I'm reasonably confident that all of the above-cited records do indeed pertain to our22Charlie Black:
•
His World War I draft card, dated 5 June 1917, states that he was born in 1896, that he lived in Soperton (in what would soon become Treutlen County), and that he supported his mother, wife, and two children3—consistent with what we know about 22Charlie from his 1920 census;4 that his presumably never-married mother would have been elderly by 1917 (assuming she were still alive); and furthermore that I can find no other men of similar name and age living anywhere near Treutlen County in the 1920 census.
•
Although 22Charlie's Social Security application, dated August 1939, doesn't provide the names of his wife and/or children like other late records do, in the 1940 census I find only two men named Charlie/Charles Black of similar age (46 ± 5 years) in Georgia and born in Georgia. The "other" Charlie lived far away in Fulton County11 and seems to have no connection to our 22Charlie. Unique among the later records, his application does mention 45Julia and 90Benjamin B. Black6 (his apparent mother and maternal grandfather; more on this below).
Since all these records seem to pertain to our22Charlie, why, then, do they have such bizarrely different birthdates? Perhaps 22Charlie didn't know his real birthdate?
The evidence contradicts again on 22Charlie's place of birth. His Social Security application, which he signed and probably filled out by his own hand, states that he was born in Johnson County;6 this claim is loosely corroborated by the 1900 census, which shows him in Johnson County a few years after his birth.1 However, his death certificate and obituary state that he was born in Laurens County,8,9 and his draft card states Montgomery County.3
Problem:Resolved Who is 22Charlie's mother?
22Charlie's Social Security application, which he signed and likely filled out by his own hand, names his parents: father Burton Black, and mother Julie Taint.6 Let's review each of these claims in turn, starting with his mother.
Both the 19001 and 19102 censuses show 22Charlie living with an older woman named 45Judia/Julia:
1910: 45Julia and 22Charlie Black, live-in servant and laborer, respectively, for Willie S. Johnson. Full page.2
As you can see, in 1900 45Judia is noted as the daughter of the head of household 90Burton Black, and immediately following her are four grandchildren, including 22Charlie.1 Compare this to the 1910 census, which shows that 45Julia had had five children, three of whom were still living.2 (I have been unable to find any further trace of Sallie B. Black, James L. Black, or Velmer L. Black, the other grandchildren named in the 1900 census.) These two census records insinuate quite strongly that 45Julia is 22Charlie's mother. When considered alongside the Social Security application, wherein 22Charlie explicitly names "Julie Taint" as his mother,6 we can be very confident that this 45Judia/Julia is indeed his mother.
What about her maiden name, though? Why does 22Charlie's Social Security application show her name as Julie Taint? Consider the following:
•
Although the 1910 census notes 45Julia as "Wd" (widowed), I have found no other evidence of such a marriage. Tellingly, her 1900 census entry shows her as "S" (single), and she was still living with her father 90Burton Black and several young children, and she still had her father's surname (Black), insinuating that she'd never married.
•
"Taint," 45Julie's alleged maiden name as shown on 22Charlie's Social Security application, is very similar to the actual maiden name of Charlie's first wife, 23Viola Tant.
•
The 1860 census shows that 90Burton had a (presumed) daughter "Julia," 12 and likewise 1870 shows "Julianna." 13 Her stated ages align with the age of "Judia" in 90Burton's household in 1900.1
•
In neither the 1870 nor 1880 census can I find a woman named Julia/Julie Tant/Taint, etc. who was born in Georgia in 1860 ± 10 years. Indeed, the censuses show few Georgia-born people with this surname at all.
The above considerations could suggest that 22Charlie knowingly falsified his Social Security application, perhaps due to embarrassment that his mother's (maiden) surname was the same as his own, suggesting a possible illegitimate birth. His Social Security application notwithstanding, I propose that 22Charlie's mother was actually 45Julia Black, daughter of 90Burton Black.
Problem:Unresolved Who is 22Charlie's father?
This discussion is so lengthy and complex that I've moved it to a separate page.
My analysis shows that 22Charlie's father is probably someone closely related to Calvin Green Powell and his wife Maryann Serena Derriso. This conclusion is based entirely on DNA evidence, however, since paper-trail evidence is lacking.
In 1900 22Charlie and his mother were living with his grandfather in Johnson County.1
1900: Three generations in one house in Johnson County, Georgia. Full page.1
22Charlie and his mother were still together in 1910, this time as live-in servants for another family.2 This is the first record that shows 22Charlie in militia district 1221 (map), where he seems to have remained for the rest of his life.
1910: Alongside his mother, 22Charlie is a resident laborer for Willie S. Johnson in militia district 1221 (map), Montgomery County, Georgia. Full page.2
The 1920 census is the earliest record that doesn't also show or allude to his mother.4
1920: 22Charlie's family still in militia district 1221, Treutlen County, Georgia. Full page: 1, 2.4
His wife 23Viola died in 1924.15 Although I haven't found a marriage certificate, 22Charlie re-married to a woman named Mary Frost, as apparent from the 1930 census.5
1930: 22Charlie's family still in militia district 1221. Full page.5
The 1940 census shows him married to a woman named Malisa,7 although again I haven't found their marriage certificate.
1940: 22Charlie's family still in militia district 1221. Full page.7
22Charlie died on 11 May 1946. He's buried in Red Bluff Missionary Baptist Church cemetery in Treutlen County at coordinates N32.39205 W82.68813. His obituary,9 death certificate,8 and a photo of his grave10 are below.
3: World War One Draft Registration Cards. Charlie Black, born 15 February 1896, Montgomery County, Georgia. NARA microfilm publication 1509. FamilySearch, <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KZZN-FKJ> accessed 6 April 2012.
8: Treutlen County, Georgia death certificate 10802 for Charlie Black, who died 11 May 1946
9: "Black Funeral at Red Bluff," The Soperton News (Soperton, Georgia), Thursday 16 May 1946, page 1
10: Tombstone of Charley Black, Red Bluff Missionary Baptist Church cemetery, Treutlen County, Georgia at coordinates N32.39205 W82.68813. Photograph taken by 1Bryant Knight, circa 2011.
15: Tombstone of Viola Tant Black, Red Bluff Missionary Baptist Church cemetery, Treutlen County, Georgia at coordinates N32.39205 W82.68813. Photograph taken by 1Bryant Knight, circa 2011.
